Jack Della Maddalena took a little more than three years to complete his climb to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s welterweight summit.
The rugged Australian planted his flag at the top of the 170-pound mountain when he laid claim to the undisputed championship with a five-round unanimous decision over Belal Muhammad in the UFC 315 main event on May 10. Scores were 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46. Della Maddalena landed 200 total strikes and turned away six of his counterpart’s nine attempted takedowns in what was his 18th consecutive victory. He expects to defend the welterweight crown against Islam Makhachev—the Russian plans to vacate his lightweight title—later this year.